Preventing Water Under Pier and Beam House

January 1, 2011

Drainage for pier and beam houses can be a costly oversight. The key to maintaining a historic pier and beam house is proper drainage. When water accumulates or flows under a pier and beam house, it may cause either heaving (uplifting) or sinking of the piers.

Most historic houses around Dallas and Fort Worth Texas were constructed with Bodark tree posts buried two to three feet under the ground. More recent houses are constructed with concrete blocks or poured cement posts.

Bodark post support for foundation

The key to a safe home is preventing the moisture from accumulating around or under your home’s foundation. Watch out for pools of water in the crawl space of the pier and beam foundation. If left unattended, it can cause the beams to rot.

Due to our moisture sensitive, expansive clay soils, water under a house is always a problem.

During dry spells the soil shrinks, lowering the post. During wet periods the soil expands, raising the post.

In extremely wet conditions, clay soil turns to mud and all load bearing capacity is gone.

In the photo below repeated, wet and dry cycles have caused the concrete pier to move off center from the beam that it was intended to support. The pier is no longer supporting the beam. The homeowner may find that the floor above is springy or bouncy.

Drainage for pier and beam houses can cause problems due to alternating wet and dry soil conditions, the concrete pier has moved and is no longer supporting the beam. Photo courtesy Granite Foundation Repair.

Essentially, water needs to be steered away from your foundation.

Are you having issues about water drainage around your home?

It’s time to prevent trouble by installing a drainage system in the foundation area. The following tips should guide you towards providing greater protection for your beam and pier foundation:

3 Tips to Avoid Foundation Drainage Issues

1. In essence, your yard should be built to slope away from the house. Do you live in Irving, Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano or Arlington? You need to use sump pumps, surface drains, and French drains to make the drainage right. There are certain times of the year when it will rain a lot. With a strong slope, you should be able to avert water drainage problems plaguing your foundation.

2. Talk to a professional to help you install gutters and downspouts around your home or commercial property. Draining water away from the foundation can help you avoid the costs that come with foundation issues. With that, you won’t need to carry out costly repairs. Never forget to resolve issues in the foundation due to poor drainage.

3. Consider installing a French drain in the foundation area. Sump pumps are good when used in crawl spaces. If you want to remove a lot of water fast, consider installing a surface drain.

Why should you install drains around the foundation?

When your foundation is properly drained, it prevents foundation damage that is common to houses in Dallas and Fort Worth.

Granite Foundation Repair is an experienced drainage contractor. Why don’t you talk to us for an evaluation of the drainage situation in your foundation? If it turns out that your house or yard foundation requires drainage correction, you should have it installed. Most importantly, follow the tips provided here to prevent these issues.

Get Free Drainage Estimates

Give Granite Foundation Repair a call today!

We have the ability to help you avoid drainage problems. If you live in Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, Plano or Irving, you can get foundation drainage estimates free of charge. We provide services in the greater DFW area.